Raising anti-Taliban slogans, Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday blocked roads for hours and burnt tyres during a bandh to protest recent killing of two members of the community in Pakistan’s restive tribal belt and demanded concrete steps for ensuring the safety of minorities in that country.
The call for the bandh given by Jammu and Kashmir Sikh United Front (JKSUF) and supported by BJP, VHP, JKNPP, Jammu Bar Association, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, besides social organisations hit normal life in Jammu, Poonch, Reasi and R.S. Pura districts where shops and business establishments remained closed and vehicles went partially off the roads.
Sikh protestors, led by JKSUF convenor Sudershan Singh Wazir, blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway for over four hours in Gangyal and Jammu areas, burnt tyres at Digiana, Camp and other places along the highway and shouted anti-Taliban slogans besides demonstrating in the city.
However, there were no reports of any untowrad incidents during the bandh, a police spokesman said.
“We condemn the attack on Sikhs in Pakistan. The beheading incidents are brutal. Sikhs are unsafe in the area and Pakistan Government has failed to provide them security,” Mr. Wazir told reporters in Jammu.
Meanwhile, All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee in Srinagar appealed to governments of India and Pakistan to take concrete steps to ensure safety and security of minorities living in the neighbouring country.
